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CHOP Begins Examining 5-Year-Old Girl With Leukemia

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The medical team at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia began their examination of 5-year-old Nora Situm, who is battling leukemia and will undergo a new gene therapy treatment (see related story).

Doctors began the evaluation process Friday to determine whether Nora will be a candidate for T cell therapy. This has only been used on 13 other patients, but the success rate was high.

“Our comprehensive medical team is happy that Nora and her family were able to safely arrive today at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia after the long trip from Croatia,” one of Nora’s doctors and chief of Hematologic Malignancies at CHOP, Dr. Richard Aplenc said. “We appreciate everyone’s support and commitment in helping Nora and her family come to Philadelphia. We are working hard to ensure she receives the very best medical care.”

CHOP officials say providing the best medical treatment for Nora is their first priority, and they want to create an environment where her parents can solely focus on her medical treatment.

This medical evaluation is expected to take at least one week and will likely last longer.